Exhilarated
by duskshard
Summary: Under Zeldas hidden watch, Link adapts to his new life as an adult as he battles through the Forest Temple. This will develop based on the level of interest it gets. In-game. Spoilers.


** Exhilarated: Chapter 1 **

Link pushed his new body to its limits in the Forest Temple. He was fascinated by his new strength and energy, working his sword fighting into a more skilled and lethal sort of dancing. With the little Kokiri sword he'd been fighting in a style more suited for a dagger. The Master Sword required a wielder with skill and grace. It demanded focus and fortitude.

This suited him perfectly. The Gods had designed it for him. The sword seemed to do his bidding as naturally as though it were part of his newly powerful body. No fiend had stood a chance against him since he'd entered the temple and he was quite at his leisure now, felling foes in a few easy slashes. He kept his shield clipped to his back for more freedom to play with the sword.

Of course, a great part of his reason to be so unexpectedly at ease was the fact that he was back in the forest. He had taken so many things fore granted from his previous life with the Kokiri. The rustle of the forest floor, the smell of the wood, the eerie sound of the wind in the trees. He felt alert and in his element, ready for anything as though he was completely invincible. The thick and ancient forest air did nothing to dampen his spirits.

Navi worked hard to keep up with him, watching his back throughout the temple, identifying the enemies and their weaknesses, helping him target, helping him find his way. She too enjoyed the solitude of the forest and revelled in her freedom to fly about outside of Links hat.

Zelda kept track of this hidden up in the heights and shadows of the Temples main rooms- in her guise as Shiek. She was equally as fascinated by his newfound strength and also felt it her duty to keep an eye on his progress. Afterall, if something terrible were to happen to him she would not be able to stop her guilt. Her faith in the Goddesses remained strong, however, and she knew Link would be the Hero he was destined to be without any other help than her distant guidance and his guardian fairy to watch his back. She admired his courage greatly, but the thing that endeared him to her was the way he accepted his task without complaint. And so she found herself watching him more closely than she had planned, actually venturing within the Temple rather than just wait for him at the entrance.

Every now and again she would lose track of his whereabouts in the Temple- not being able to follow him very closely through the network of chambers. She felt deceitful in hiding her true identity from Link but she could risk nothing. If Link were to be caught by Ganondorf and questioned under bewitchment of torture she could not risk him holding the secret of her new identity.

Link set his lips to the Ocarina she gave him all those years ago and played the eerie notes of The Song Of Time. It sent a shiver up her spine every time she heard him play, though it never failed to calm her soul. There was a strange feeling of righteousness when she saw Link play her ancient and beloved Ocarina- it was as though it embodied her trust in him to do the deeds she asked. It always made her smile when he placed it so carefully back in his pocket afterwards. It was in good care.

The blue block that had stood in Links path disappeared at the song and Zelda watched him leave the main room. She closed her eyes and preyed to the Goddesses he was ready for this Temple.

*

Hours later, Link found himself in a musty and abandoned chamber with nothing but stairs and empty portraits. All was silent but for the blood pounding in his ears and his panting breaths. He slid into a sitting position, clutching the banister of some highly overgrown and barely visible stairs. Navi allowed herself to float onto his shoulder. He had no idea what time of the day it was- he had not seen the sky in hours- the forest was so thick here. His muscles ached and his eyes stung… his heart was beginning to slow back to a normal pace now, his skin cooling after the ferocity of battles in the last few chambers.

His stomach rumbled and he reached in his pouch for some food… but then realised his eyes were still shut and he had only imagined this. He smiled in amusement and fell quickly asleep.

He could only have been out for a few minutes, however, when Navi frantically woke him up, fluttering in front of his face- her fairy aura going wild. Jumping to his feet, Links instincts were going haywire as he searched the shadows for the source of alarm.

What he hadn't expected was an arrow shooting out from one of the apparently empty paintings further down the stairs. It flew passed his left ear and whistled like the laughter now coming from the black canvas on the wall.

Furious, Link drew his own bow and arrow and struck back at the painting, expecting a shriek that never came. Cursing, Link decided to keep moving- a target standing still was so much more vulnerable than a moving one. He dashed down the stairs two steps at a time and inwardly groaned as he turned on the landing to see another black and empty canvas in front of him.

Laughter from behind.

"Link!" Navis tiny voice squeaked.

Link whirled around at the unwelcome noise and instantly regretted his moment of stationary hesitation. An arrow erupted from the back of his bicep and his arm exploded in white-hot pain.

Staggering slightly and staring in shock at the bloody arrow head petruding from his tunic, he felt a wave of pain and nausea threaten to overwhelm him and he swallowed, swaying slightly. He had no time for such weakness, and soon regained his posture. Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth against the fire in his arm, Link began a frenzied attack on both paintings with his bow and arrow. He eventually managed to catch them all with the help of Navi watching the paintings at his back.

He wanted desperately to sit down and ease the pain in his arm- to take out the arrow and apply some potion. He no longer trusted this room, however and made for the door in a desperate faze.

Another cackle sounded and Link felt an irritable sort of dread snap at his nerves. A poe appeared behind him and bars appeared over the door. He knew from his map that this door would lead him back to the Temples main room much quicker than the way he came, and he needed to get to a safe place as soon as possible. So Link drew his sword to fight, thanking all the Goddesses that he had at least been shot in the arm he did not use to wield the Master Sword.

The fight was agonizingly long and Links concentration lagged. He could think of nothing but his arm and the desire it gave him to vomit. His left arm was useless but as he moved to fight the Poe, the arrow was constantly causing him more pain. What was worse was that the Poe picked up on this and took full advantage of his weak point.

In the final blow of the battle, Link threw himself at the Poe and plunged the Master Sword into its dark face. At the same time, the Poe spun the lantern right into his arm and it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and clutch it. Instead, he threw back his head and screamed his agony.

"Link!" Navi screamed at him, pulling at his tunic. "Come on! Lets get back to the main room so you can pull that out!"

Wordlessly, he took her advice and followed her lead- his brain not working properly anymore. It simply screamed at him that there was an arrow in his arm and it needed to be taken out and healed _right now_.

*

Zelda heard Links scream. It made her blood curdle and a panic flutter in her chest. She battled with her urge to go and seek him out to make sure he was all right. She mustn't interfere more than she had to. _The Goddesses won't let him die. They can't let the Hero die_, she assured herself. That was a shout of pain or frustration, not a shout of death. She felt slightly calmer once she convinced herself of this, but still she frantically searched the walls for any more sounds of his whereabouts in the Temple. The slightest sign of him still being in fighting order. She found none for several minutes, however, until finally a door beneath her crashed open and Link fell into the room with Navi.

He fell all the way to the ground and lay there, unmoving.

Zelda gasped and quickly covered her mouth, forgetting it was bandaged and therefore muffled anyway. Navi appeared not to hear. Link however…

She leaned down to peer at him a little closer…

What she saw made her almost lose her grip on the vines holding her above their heads.

An arrow had completely come through Links arm and lodged itself there. It had probably broken right through bone. Zelda wrinkled her nose and peered at Links face. He wasn't unconscious. His face was white, sweaty and contorted in an exhausted pain. His panting came out in gasps and Navi was desperately trying to get him back onto his feet- pulling at his hand and tapping his face.

"Come on, Link! We can't stop in here! We have to carry on or get out!" she badgered.

"Navi…" he gasped. "I need to get this arrow out of my arm." He grabbed at it with his right hand. "I need to… but I can't snap it with one hand… and I don't know if I can pull it back the other way." His face paled a little more as he said this and he dropped his head back to the ground and simply took control of his breathing for a minute.

His eyes began to close…

"LINK! YOU CAN'T REST HERE COME ON!" Navi screamed, but to no avail. Her charge merely groaned indecipherably. She grabbed at his hair.

"Navi." Zelda hissed, dropping down beside them, agile as a cat.

The little fairy jumped out of her skin and zoomed away from her, aura glowing wildly. "SHIEK!"

She put her hand to her tiny heart and flitted back over to them. "Help me get Link up and to the fairy fountain!"

"The fairys cannot take out that arrow, they have not the strength as you know and the wound will only heal properly with it taken out."

"Then take it out! Please!" Navi insisted, now flying around the arrow and prodding it and Links wound in desperation.

Zelda hesitated. She had never really delt with anything like this before. Impa had taken care of anything gory and protected her from so much as watching. She wasn't sure what the best way to go about this situation was, but she decided that the first thing was to take out the arrow. She looked down at Link, wondering if he was unconscious and would sleep through it.

Taking a deep breath, she knelt down beside Link and gently took hold of the arrow. Link seemed not to notice, though his eyelashes fluttered and his lips twitched which showed her he wasn't quite unconscious afterall. She wondered if she should hit him over the head…

_Of course not, _she thought. _The Goddesses would have me killed for touching their Hero._

She closed her eyes and begged silently for his forgiveness for what she was about to do… and snapped the arrow in his arm.

The scream that ripped through the room then made her wince and brace herself. By the time she looked back at him his eyes rolled up into his head and his body went limp and still… She let out the breath she'd been holding and thanked the Godesses that he was unconscious now, at least.

She pulled out the arrow parts now, and checked for splinters. Blood spurted and gushed from it, staining his sleeve and creating a new problem she'd completely overlooked.

"Shiek!" Navi gasped, her face shocked and traumatised. "That's a lot of blood!"

Panic flooded the pit of Zeldas stomach again and she allowed herself one second before she calmed down and used her head. She knew they hadn't thought to bring a fairy or a set of bandages, having watched them prepare to set out for the Temple.

She cursed them and quickly unwound a bandage from her ankle- her least recognisable feature- and quickly wrapped it tight around Links wound. He was still out cold.

"Navi… do you know if there are any fairy fountains in the Lost Woods?"

Navi looked up at her, shocked, and smacked her forehead with her palm. "Of course! There is one right outside the Temple, Shiek! Why didn't I think of it before?!"

"Calm yourself, fairy and take us there." She slid one arm under Links back and pulled him into a sitting position. "Link…" she tapped his face. "Link… wake up." He didn't stir and she cursed silently. With another arm under his knees she picked him up and marvelled at her own strength. Life as Shiek certainly had changed her.

Still, she didn't think she could hold him for very long… her strengh was quickly ebbing as they made their way out from the Temple. It wasn't far- they made it up the steps and through the door. Zelda quickly laid Link down and used his hookshot to kill the skultulla that blocked their way.

They encountered no problems until they reached the Temples entrance. Two howls ripped the night and a pair of wolfos sprung from the grass. They crashed into Zelda before she could stun them with a Deku Nut and she toppled backwards, Link rolling away across the steps. She cursed and jumped to the top of the pillars, out of their reach.

"Navi!" She screamed, "keep them away from Link!"

She began to throw Deku Nuts at the Wolfos but they were good at avoiding her throws. It wasn't long, however until they gave up on her and turned to Link instead. He lay unprotected on the steps of the Temple.

* * *

A/N: I began writing this just to see where my pen would take me. I'm starting to get some ideas that I would like to persue into a multi-chapter fic. If you have any ideas for what could happen next I'd really love to hear them! I suffer writers block a lot… The length will depend on the level of interest so make sure you review if you wanna read more :)


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